Internal-combustion-engine starter.



C. CARSON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. II. l9l5.

1 ,206,986. Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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C. CARSON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION FILED 050.21.1915.

1 ,206,986 Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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CLARK CARSON, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION-ENGINE STARTER.

Application filed December 1'7, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARK CARSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Internal-Combustion-Em gine Starter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanical starters for internal combustion engines and resides in the provision of a simply constructed, easily operable starter of this character which may be easily attached and will prove reliable and effective in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the subjoined detail description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of part of the chassis of an automobile showing the engine and my improved starting device installed. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of the starting device; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 1 is an enlarged detail sectional view of one of the operating parts of the starting device with a portion of attached flexible elements.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the chassis of a motor vehicle, 2 the engine supported by the chassis, 3 the engine shaft, 4: the longitudinally shiftable cranking shaft, 5 the crank, 6 and 7 normally disengaged clutch members on the engine and cranking shafts respectively, 8 the forward semi-cylindrical portion of the engine frame and 9 a compression spring on the cranking shaft for holding the clutch members normally disengaged.

Fixed upon the starting shaft is a drum 10 having a plurality of ratchet teeth 11 on a portion of its periphery. This drum will hereinafter be referred to as a ratchet drum and upon its inner face is provided with under-cut teeth 12 which comprise the clutch member 7. There is provided a casting in the form of two circular rings 13 joined by webs 14 provided upon opposite sides of the rings and which are bolted to the engine frame 8. The rings 13 of the casting act as bearings for the drum 10 and as guide members, as will be later more fully described.

A l b e pulling" member .16 i parti y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Serial No. 67,440.

rove around the drum 10 and at its free end is loosely connected with a pawl 17 adapted for engagement with the teeth 11. A loop 18 is provided at the free end of the member 16 and receives a pin 19 inserted through the bifurcated end 20 of the pawl, said loop extending within the bifurcated end 20. The pawl 17 is held against lateral displacement by the guide rings 13. The member 16 extends outwardly at right-angles to the cranking shaft and around a pulley 21 mounted upon the chassis 1 of the motor vehicle and then along the chassis to a point near the drivers seat, not shown, and is connected as at 22 with an operating lever 23. The lever 23 is pivoted as at 24 upon a shaft 25 extending across the chassis and is located preferably within reach of the drivers seat. A handle 25 is provided at the upper end of the lever whereby it may be grasped and the lever pulled to communicate a pull to the member 16.

A retractive flexible member 26 is secured in a recess 27 in the back edge of the pawl 17 by means of a screw 28 and extends upwardly from the pawl over a roller 29 mounted upon one of the webs 14. From the roller 29 the member 26 extends outwardly approximately parallel to the member 16 and around a pulley 30 carried beneath the pulley 21. From the pulley 30 the member 26 extends rearwardly to a point back of the engine and is connected with a retractive spring 31 fixed to a lug 32 on the engine frame.

Retractive spring 31 is always in tension.

This tension, when the starter mechanism is not in operation, is transmitted through the retractive flexible element 26, through the pawl 17, which is held thereby in its normal position out of engagement with ratchet teeth'll, to and through the flexible pulling element 16 to the operating lever 23, which is thereby held in a forwardly inclined normal position, this tension being increased as the spring 31 is elongated during the pulling on flexible pulling member 16 and is the main means for engaging and holding in engagement the pawl 17 with the ratchet teeth 11 during the cranking opera'tion.

I provide a substantially L-shaped lever for throwing the clutch member 7 into engagement with the clutch member 6 and hi mem e i pi e t e a d 1 3 to one of the webs 14 and at its other end is connected with a flexible member 35. One of the arms of the lever rests upon the cranking shaft and engages the outer end of the drum 10 so that when a pull is communicated to the flexible member 35 the drum and shaft upon which it is mounted will be shifted causing the compression spring 9 to further compress and clutch member 7 to engage with the clutch member 6. The flexible member 35 is slidable through eyes 36, 37 and 38 located at points near and intermediate the ends of the lever 23. Adinger ring 39 is connected to the member 35 and is located near the handle 25 so that when the handle is grasped by the operator the ring may be grasped also to communicate a pull through the flexible member 35 to the lever 33 causing it to move the clutch members into cooperative engagement. Upon releasing finger ring 39 the clutch members are frictionally held e11- gaged while operating lever 23 is being moved backward and upon the stoppage of such movement the compression spring 9 automatically disengages the clutch member 7 from the clutch member 6 on the engine shaft. 7

I provide means to hold the pawl 17 from being pulled out of operative position and for disengaging the pawl from the ratchet drum in the event of back-firing of the engine 2. This means comprises pins 40 and 41 which are located between and secured to the ring 13 at points just above the pawl when the latter is in its normal position. These pins prevent the member 26 which has a tendency to pull the pawl 17 upwardly from pulling the pawl from out between the rings 13 or from its normal position as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Presuming the pawl engaging a ratchet tooth on drum which is engaged with engine shaft that is being rotated clockwise by a pull on the flexible element, when a back-firing of the engine occurs resulting in the ratchet drum being forced to revolve with engine shaft in a counter-clockwise rotation pulling with it the engaged pawl and flexible pulling element, when the point of the pawl revolving with drum hits stationary pin 40 said pawl is automatically wedged out from the periphery of said drum and disengaged from said ratchet tooth and comes to rest in-its normal position where it is held by the retractive flexible element 26. The drum continuing to revolve will gradually become disengaged with the engine shaft by means of the compression spring 9 since only frictional contact has held clutch members in engagement. The longitudinal pressure is applied to the drum by means of lever 33 only upon the commencement of the starting action and rotation of the drum in a clockwise direction.

The force of gravity on the crank 5 will then return the drum to normal position and the starter parts are all in normal position to perform another starting operation.

In operation the handle 25 of the lever 23 is grasped and the ring 39 is pulled, causing a pull to be communicated to the mem ber 35 and the lever 33 to shift the clutch member 7 into cooperative engagement with the clutch member 6. As the lever 23 is pulled rearwardly from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 a pull is communicated to the pulling member 16 which pulls the pawl 17 downwardly into engagement with one of the teeth 11 on the drum 10. The member 26 in exerting an up-pull on the pawl 17 in combination with the down-pull provided by the pulling member 16 causes the pawl to move downwardly and inwardly toward the ratchet drum and to engage one of the teeth on the drum as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Further pulling of the member 16 causes the drum 10 to be rotated and a clockwise rotation to be communicated to the engine shaft. It will be seen that the engine shaft may be given a little more than one-half of a revolution and this in most engines is quite sufficient to start the motor. In case of back-firing, the pawl will engage the pins 40 and 41 and be thrown out of engagement with the teeth 11 on the drum 10. As soon as the pull is released on the pulling member 16 at the operating lever the tension of the spring 31 returns the lever, pulling member 16 and pawl 17 to their normal respective positions. The crank 5 by force of gravity assumes a vertical position and the drum 10 is moved into normal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. When the ratchet drum 10 is moved longitudinally by means of a pull on the ring 39 at the handle 25 transmitted through the flexible element 35 to and through the lever 33 to said ratchet drum, the under-cut clutch teeth 12 on said drum engage the clutch member 6 on the engine shaft 3 and are thereafter held in engagement by the pressure exerted through said under-cut teeth on and against the engine shaft clutch member, caused by pulling back the starting lever 23 which thereby engages the pawl with the ratchet drum, causing it to revolve, thus revolving the engine shaft. The tension transmitted through the pawl 17 by means of the retractive flexible element 26 fastened to the back of the pawl and the flexible pulling element 16 fastened to the end of the pawl cause said pawl to engage the ratchet teeth 11 on the ratchet drum 10 when the flexible pulling element is pulled and hold said engagement during a continuation of said pulling during the cranking operation. When the starter parts a e in normal po itiqa f? i 6 that t gine may be spun or cranked freely as usual in the ordinary manner of cranking from in front of the motor vehicle.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction shown in the drawings and described above, but that deviations therefrom may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a starting device for internal combustion engines, in combination with an engine shaft, a separate cranking shaft, normally disengaged clutch -menibers on the adjacent ends of said shafts, means including an actuating member for moving the cranking shaft in the direction of its length to bring said clutch members into engagement, a ratchet on said cranking shaft, a flexible member carrying a pawl at one end operatively associated with said ratchet, an operating lever to which the opposite end of said flexible member is connected, said actuating member being directly mounted on said operating lever whereby the cranking shaft may be moved longitudinally and rotated by a single operation.

2. In a starting device for internal combustion engines, in combination with an engine shaft, a cranking shaft substantially co-axial therewith, cooperative clutch members associated with the adjacent ends of the cranking shaft and engine shaft, adapted to be moved into engagement, a ratchet mounted upon the cranking shaft, a pawl adapted to coact therewith, a member connected with the pawl adapted to cause it to engage said ratchet to rotate the shaft, an operating member from which motion is transmitted to said pawl, and means mounted on said operating member adapted to transmit motion to the cranking shaft to move the same longitudinally and cause a gripping engagement between said co-active clutch members.

3. In a starting device for internal combustion engines, in combination with an engine shaft, a cranking shaft, cooperative clutch members on the adjacent ends of said shafts normally in disengaged position, and means operable from a single point adapted to move said cranking shaft longitudinally to bring the clutch members into operative engagement and also to rotate said cranking shaft to start the engine, said means including a ratchet mounted on the cranking shaft, a pawl adapted to coact with said ratchet, an operating member from which motion is transmitted to said pawl, a flexible connection between said pawl and operating member, and a second flexible connection between said pawl and a relatively fixed part adapted normally to hold said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet and to aid in returning the parts to normal position after the actuation of said device.

Signed at Los Angeles, this 9th day of December, 1915.

CLARK CARSON.

WVitnesses PAULINE E. CARSON, DAISY Gr. GOSNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

